Method, apparatus and computer program for managing booking of an office resource

Abstract

A method for managing booking of an office resource includes: receiving a booking schedule corresponding to reserving the office resource for a reservation period; predicting a feedback from the user in response to a notification requesting the user to release the office resource; and sending the notification to the user over the network based on the predicted feedback from the user. The method improves the mechanism of sending reminder notifications over the network so as to increase the success rate of getting positive response from the user to release the booking, while also reducing unnecessary network traffic and to minimize disturbance caused to the users.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for managing booking of an office resource, comprising the steps of:
 receiving a booking schedule corresponding to reserving the office resource for a reservation period;   predicting a feedback from the user in response to a notification requesting the user to release the office resource; and   sending the notification to the user over the network based on the predicted feedback from the user.   
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the notification is sent to the user over the network if the predicted feedback from the user is to release the office resource. 
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 2 , wherein the step of predicting the feedback from the user further comprises:
 predicting the likelihood that sending a notification to the user will result in release of the office resource; and   determining that the predicted feedback from the user is to release the office resource if the predicted likelihood of release of the office resource is above a threshold.   
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising the steps of:
 receiving a feedback from the user in response to the notification; and   releasing the office resource according to the feedback.   
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising the step of periodically evaluating the likelihood of release when the reserved office resource is unoccupied during the reservation period. 
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising the step of automatically releasing the office resource when the office resource has been unoccupied for a time period. 
     
     
         7 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising the step of storing information associated with the office resource reservation in the database, wherein the information comprises at least one of:
 the time the office resource has been used since reservation period started;   the time the office resource has been unoccupied;   the number of users that will use the office resource;   the day and time of day for the reservation;   location of the office resource;   type of the office resource;   metadata associated with the office resource;   capacity of the office resource;   accessibility considerations;   priority of the usage of the office resource;   the identification of the user;   organization the user belongs to;   role of the user in the organization;   actual response received as a result of previous notifications for the office resource;   whether virtual meeting is being held;   the number of times and durations the resource has been made unoccupied previously during the current reservation time;   the location of the user at the time when the current notification was sent;   the location of the user at the time when the previous notification was sent;   the distance of the user from the resource when the current notification was sent;   the moving direction of the user with respect to the resource when the current notification was sent;   the state of the user's devices when the current notification was sent;   the feedback received from the user in response to the current notification;   the feedback received from the user in response to the previous notification; and   the information about another user having requested for release of the resource.   
     
     
         8 . The method according to  claim 7 , wherein the feedback from the user is predicted by performing statistical analysis based on the information stored in the database. 
     
     
         9 . The method according to  claim 7 , wherein the feedback from the user is predicted by using a machine learning algorithm trained by the information stored in the database. 
     
     
         10 . The method according to  claim 9 , wherein the machine learning algorithm comprises a decision tree. 
     
     
         11 . The method according to  claim 10 , wherein the decision tree comprises the decision nodes of:
 determining the likelihood that the user does not need the office resource; and   determining the likelihood that sending a notification to the user will result in release of the office resource.   
     
     
         12 . The method according to  claim 9 , wherein the machine learning algorithm comprises a linear regression model. 
     
     
         13 . The method according to  claim 9 , wherein the machine learning algorithm comprises a classification model. 
     
     
         14 . The method according to  claim 9 , wherein the machine learning algorithm comprises a neural network. 
     
     
         15 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the office resource is selected from the group comprising:
 work spaces, meeting rooms, collaboration areas, phone booths, laboratory benches, resting rooms, staff break rooms, reception areas and desks.   
     
     
         16 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the notification provides information comprising at least one of:
 the reservation period for the office resource;   the time the office resource has been unoccupied;   attendees that will also use the office resource;   identification of the office resource;   location of the office resource;   type of the office resource; and   the information about another user having requested for release of the resource.   
     
     
         17 . A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a computer program comprising computer readable instructions that, when loaded onto a computer, configure the computer to perform the method according  claim 1 . 
     
     
         18 . An apparatus for managing booking of an office resource, comprising circuitry configured to:
 receive a booking schedule corresponding to reserving the office resource for a reservation period;   predict a feedback from the user in response to a notification requesting the user to release the office resource; and   send the notification to the user over the network based on the predicted feedback from the user.   
     
     
         19 . The apparatus according to  claim 18 , wherein the notification is sent to the user over the network if the predicted feedback from the user is to release the office resource. 
     
     
         20 . The apparatus according to  claim 18 , wherein the circuitry is configured so that the step of predicting the feedback from the user further comprises:
 predicting the likelihood that sending a notification to the user will result in release of the office resource; and   determining that the predicted feedback from the user is to release the office resource if the predicted likelihood of release of the office resource is above a threshold.